Even though tit was noticeably smaller than the previous two, Menkaure'spyramid is quite fine, with a casing of Aswan granite that made it stand out from the tura limestone casing of the larger pyramids.

Menkaure was the son of Khafre (Chephren, Khefren) and his queen Khamernebi I. LIke many pharaohs, he married his sister, Khamernebti II, to retain power.

At least one theory suggests that Menkaure was a benevolent and wise king because his pyramid was so much smaller.

Menkaure was Khafre's son and his monument, by far the smallest of the three Gizapyramids, was called 'Menkaure is Divine'.

The pyramid appears to have been unfinished at the death of the king and was completed in mudbrick by Menkaure's son Shepseskaf, and later additions were built to his temples during Dynasties V and VI, suggesting that his mortuary cult was still flourishing then.

Menkaure built three queen's pyramids on the southern side of his monument, though the largest eastern one (G3-a), which has a T-shaped substructure, was perhaps first intended as a satellite cult pyramid, but later presumably used for the burial of a queen, as were all three satellite pyramids, which had mudbrick chapels attached.

At an original height of 228 feet, Menkaure'spyramid is smaller than those belonging to his father and grandfather, perhaps because those earlier construction projects must have put a huge strain on the people and resources of the land.

He had two sons that we know of, Khuenre, his eldest son who apparently died prior to Menkaure and was buried in a rock tomb (MQ 1) southeast of his father's pyramid, and Shepsekaft, who was his successor.

These legends record that Menkaure reopened temples which had been closed to provide labor for his predecessor's pyramid construction, and repealed many of the more oppressive measures of his predecessors, which therefore was an affront to the gods.

However, it would almost seem that Menkaure was blessed by the gods, because far more statues survive of Menkaure than of his 4th Dynasty predecessors.

that the queen is Menkaure's wife, and that the position she occupies in the sculpture shows that she is subordinate to the pharaoh.

Her more relaxed, naturalistic pose, the fact that her left foot does not extend as far forward as Menkaure's, the less rigid position of her arms, her open hands compared to his clenched fists, are believed to indicate her inferior rank within the rigorously hierarchic social organization of Egypt.

She is shown in the act of presenting him, indicating to the world that he is the man whom she is identifying and establishing as pharaoh.

The near equality of the female to her male consort is an aspect of African culture.

Egypt (Giza, Valley Temple of Mycerinus), Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, reign of Menkaure, 2532-2510 B.C. Found in one of the temples dedicated to the cult of Mycerinus, this magnificent sculpture of gray stone demonstrates the close relationship that the Egyptians perceived between their gods and their kings, whom they also believed to be divine.

The standard explanation for the relatively small size of this "runt" is simply that Menkaure didn't have the resources to build a pyramid of comparable grandeur as his predecessors; however, there is no evidence that such might be the case.

Finding no plausible physical factors for their orientation, Bauval began looking for symbolic reasons that eventually led to his insight that the pyramids are aligned perfectly with the stars of the constellation Orion.

he point I'm going for is that to overlook Menkaure'spyramid simply because of its size is to greatly underestimate the ancient Egyptians and to miss out on a very powerful experience.

Menkaure, who succeeded Khafre, is credited by Herodotus with liberating the people from the excessive labor of the great pyramid builders.

Pleading that he should be allowed to live longer because he had treated the people better, the priests answered that he had gone against what was supposed to be a 150-year period in which Egypt was to be punished by her kings.

Menkaure tried to go on but was only able to extend his term to twelve years.